Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by Rea
Summary: Pre-OotP. In order to defeat Lord Voldemort, Harry must assemble a team and master the art of canoeing.
1. The Mission

Disclaimer: I'm making no money off of this. This is not, I repeat, is not the real Order of the Phoenix. It is just a thread I'm spinning. Enjoy!  
  
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix  
Chapter 1: The Mission  
It was on a crisp May morn that Harry was summoned to Dumbledore's office. He sat down in a chair and was just making himself comfortable when Dumbledore walked quickly into his office and began to pace in front of Harry.   
"Well, Harry, let's review, shall we? We have tried to defeat Voldemort by torching him, mocking him, humiliating him in front of his friends, yet none of these methods have been successful." Harry nodded, glumly.  
"It turns out, however, that the reason we cannot kill him is because he has used a very powerful spell to insure his immortality. According to my sources, Voldemort has quite the affinity for canoeing; in all its shapes and forms, he cannot resist it. Besides that, he is also very good at canoeing and has led the Albanian Canoe team to win the World Cup for two years running. Apparently, Voldemort used the very potent Omnibotus spell to bring him immortality."  
"The omnibotus spell," interrupted Harry, "I've never heard of that…"  
"Of course not. Those who use it are few and far between because of what it entails. The user will remain immortal as long as no one beats him in a canoe race. If he is beaten, he will die instantly."  
Harry stared at Professor Dumbledore in horror. "You don't mean…"  
"Yes, Harry, tomorrow you will begin your training in the fine art of canoeing."  
Harry continued staring at Dumbledore and gulped.  
"Your first task, Harry, will be to pick a name for your boat, your team and the people on your team. These steps are very important. Yes, some would say they are almost as important as the training itself. But you must do it soon, Harry, for the fate of all humanity rest on your shoulders."  
Harry sat in the Great Hall, stabbing kippers with his fork and mumbling under his breath as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George stared at him.  
"Stupid canoeing…why couldn't he have been a Quidditch fanatic? I can play that…but no…he has to like the one sport that sends shivers up my spine."  
"Oh for god sakes, Harry," exclaimed Hermione. "You've been muttering all night! And if you stab those kippers one more time, I'm going to shove my fork into your larynx."  
Everyone stopped staring at Harry and began to stare at Hermione; Ron edged his chair away from her uneasily. Hermione glared at him and turned to address Harry again. "Really, Harry, what is the matter with you?"  
"Voldemort, the only person alive that could possibly like -no, enjoy- canoeing," Harry spit out bitterly.  
"Huh?" Hermione and the Weasleys stared at him again; wondering if the pressure of being "the boy who lived" had finally made him snap.  
"I'm not crazy, either, so stop staring at me like I am! It's just that Dumbledore told me that the only way to kill Voldemort is to defeat him in a canoe race. It has to do with some spell he did to make himself immortal. It's called "Omniscient boat" or something like that."  
At that moment, both George and Fred burst out laughing as though they had never laughed before. "Canoeing," gasped Fred. "You-Know-Who is a canoeist!" The doubled over in laughter.  
"Oh, yes," Hermione said, excitedly. "The omnibotus spell, I've heard of that! It's very complex…no wonder he picked it." Hermione's interest peaked while Ron muttered under his breath, "surprise, surprise, not a spell around she hasn't heard of."  
"Oh, get over it, Ron," interjected George, who was still smiling. He turned to Harry and asked, "So, what is it you have to do to beat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at canoeing?" He winked at Fred and they both started laughing again.  
"Shut up," said Ginny. "This is serious. Well, what do you have to do, Harry?" Harry told them all the details of his task.  
"O.K.," said Ron. "So you've got to get yourself a team. I say you've got a pretty good team right here: Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, you, and me. How many people do you need to beat You-Know-Who?"  
"I dunno…but I suppose six is a good number. Though I wouldn't mind having the British Rowing Club, the American Olympic Swim team and a military squad helping, too."  
Ginny stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "Boy, you're no overestimating you chances there are you?" She said in a surprised yet amazingly sarcastic voice.  
"I hope not," he replied without a trace of humor. Fred shook his head, still chuckling as the rest of them finished their supper in silence. 


	2. Dobby's Help

Chapter 2: Dobby's Help  
The canoe rowed through the mist as Harry shouted "Row! Up! Row! Up!" to keep everybody in the same rhythm. They were seated in pairs on what was an undeniably nice canoe. It had bits of green and yellow paint on it and the image of a bird emblazoned on the side. Harry tried as hard as he could to keep his attention on rowing but his mind kept on worrying about the other canoe he heard gliding through the water towards them. "One, two!" Harry heard through the mist, over and over again as the two boats edged closer.  
He urged his teammates on with more shouts as he tried in vain to row faster. He knew that he did not want that boat to get any closer to them, but they could go no faster and looked like they were half-dead. The other boat moved closer now, until Harry could plainly see who occupied it: Voldemort, brandishing a wand in one hand and an oar in the other.  
"Avada Kedarva!" he screamed and the green light poured from Voldemort's wand towards Ron and Hermione. "No!!" Harry yanked his out of the water and blocked the curse, hitting it and sending it in the other direction. Voldemort ducked it easily; the Killing Curse flew through the air until it hit a tree, killing it instantly. Voldemort stood up straight, laughing and tossed his wand to one of the rowers. He took his oar in hand and faced Harry, who looked at Voldemort with horror written on his face.   
"What do you want, Voldemort?" The Dark Lord laughed and replied, "I only want one thing: to duel you right now; a battle in the canoes." He swung his oar at Harry, who blocked it and parried. The battle had begun.  
It quickly became fiercer as Voldemort swung his oar into Harry's, beating him back. Harry heard his own oar begin to splinter so he took a chance and swung into Voldemort's side. The oar had no effect on Voldemort; instead of hurting him, the oar broke in two upon contact and Voldemort laughed his eerie high-pitched laugh. Dread filled Harry to the bone as he heard his teammates screaming.  
Ginny's voice rang out "No, not Harry! Don't kill Harry! Take me instead!" "Move aside, you silly girl!" Voldemort shoved Ginny out of the way roughly with his oar before pointing it back at Harry. He raised it slowly and Harry shut his eyes waiting for the inevitable. Voldemort opened his mouth and said, "Harry Potter must wake up!" Harry blinked and woke up.  
"AHHHH!!" Dobby was sitting there, on Harry's bed staring into Harry's face only inches away and poking Harry's side with a wooden spoon. "Dobby! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? You scared the living daylights out of me!" "Dobby is sorry, sir, that he must wake Harry Potter up, but he is having important information about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Dobby squeaked, pulling his hat over his ears.  
Harry, through his tiredness, said, "Who, Voldemort?" The elf gasped and cried, "Please! You is not saying that name!" Dobby threw himself one the floor, taking the contents of Harry's nightstand with him and landing with a loud crash. "Hush," whispered Harry," you'll wake everyone up!" Ron stirred behind the curtains of his bed and mumbled "'ermione" before rolling over and going back to sleep.  
Harry released the house-elf and asked, "Now, what information do you have about You-Know-Who?"  
"I knows, sir, where Harry Potter can get the canoe that will help him beat the Dark Lord."  
"A canoe? How did you know about that?" "Dobby is overhearing it when the Headmaster told Harry Potter."  
Harry stared at Dobby. He had overheard? Then it was also possible for other people to overhear as well…but that wasn't important. What was important was that he find out as much as possible about this canoe.  
"Okay, Dobby, tell me more about this canoe." "Well, Dobby is never seeing it, but he has heard it is the best canoe, the only canoe that can defeat the Dark Lord."  
"And where can I find such a canoe?" prompted Harry.  
"Ay, this is the difficult part. He is also hearing it is deep in the Forbidden Forest, being guarded by such a creature that no one could ever reach it because he would be eaten alive by the Guardian and his family. Unless, of course, he is doing some favor for the Guardian, for which the boat will be given as a reward."  
Harry listened to Dobby filled with uncertainty. How could he get this boat, if the Guardian killed everyone who tried? Not to mention the fact that it was in the Forbidden Forest which was, well, FORBIDDEN! Harry smiled at Dobby weakly and said, "Thanks, Dobby. You've been a great help."  
Dobby leapt off of the bed and bowed. "Dobby is only doing what Harry Potter would do for him," he squeaked before running out of the dormitory and back to the kitchens.  
Harry lay back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. It would be something to mention to Hermione, Ron, Ginny, George, and Fred in the morning, but he doubted anything would come of it. 


	3. A Rowing Machine Named Marvin

Chapter 3: A Rowing Machine Named Marvin  
Harry woke up late the next morning, rubbing his eyes and wondering if it had all been a dream. Then he noticed everything that had been on top of his nightstand was now on the floor. He sighed and picked everything up before dressing and heading downstairs to the Great Hall.  
Ron, Hermione and Ginny were already seated at Gryffindor Table when Harry arrived; Fred and George were at the opposite end of the table, cruelly testing their new Monster Tarts on first-years. The Monster Tarts were just one of the Weasley Wizard Wheezes that had been invented, and subsequently tested, at Hogwarts since the beginning of the year. The money Harry had given them from the Triwizard Tournament had certainly done wonders to their production capabilities.  
Harry sat down next to Ron and took a healthy serving of porridge, toast, and marmalade for breakfast. Ron was sitting there, staring at a fortune cookie and trying to predict his future by studying its various contours. This was merely the latest of bizarre units Professor Trelawney was teaching them and all Divination Students were certain the fumes in her room were starting to affect her for the worst.  
Professor Trelawney had presented them the fortune cookies the previous Monday, informing them that they would now be studying methods of telling the future used in different cultures. However, Harry felt pretty certain that these fortune cookies were not foreign; the bag she stored them in was clearly labeled "Hogsmeade Chinese Restaurant, Liu Ping proprietor. Seamus had snorted and said, "Hmph. I bet she just likes Chinese food and with that new take-out restaurant in Hogsmeade…" Harry and Ron laughed…or at least Harry thought Ron laughed. It was hard to tell when he was wearing a gas mask. Ron could very well have been choking on poisonous fumes instead.  
That outburst had landed them with the additional assignment of predicting their fortunes for the next lunar month ("Chinese wizards use the lunar calendar, not the solar, students," Prof. Trelawney had told them.) and Ron was struggling to finish his before Divination started.  
"Let's see…it's bent at a 56 degree angle, I wonder if that means anything." Ron glanced at his textbook. "'Stressful period'," he read." 'Wear sunscreen'. What is that suppose to mean?"  
Hermione shook her head at Ron, obviously not approving of his last minute homework session. "Honestly, Ron. If you're going to take Divination, you could at least try to finish the assignments before breakfast on the day they're due. You never see me with that problem in Arithmacy."  
"Yeah, well, you try taking Divination and see how well you do."  
"I did, remember?"  
"Oh, yeah." Ron sighed and got back to work.  
Hermione smiled and reached over and pulled the small piece of paper from the inside of the cookie.  
"Hey!" exclaimed Ron, trying to snatch it back. Hermione just laughed and said, "Here, Ron, this fortune makes a lot more sense: 'You will be devoured by a large, hairy monster'. And we have Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon."  
Ron glared at her and tried again to grab it but she passed it to Ginny. Ginny turned it over and said, "Wait! That's not all! On the back, it says: 'Learn Chinese: Ni hao ma? How are you?' That could be useful, if the monster speaks Chinese, that is."  
Ron glowered at them both and snatched the 'Muggle' fortune back. "It's not funny. I can't just use the fortune inside of it; she'll know because 'it's only meant for entertainment and has no bearing on the real future," Ron said in an amazing interpretation of Prof. Trelawney's voice.  
Ron sighed, went back to work, and, after only a few seconds began to write, "Will be eaten by a Chinese-speaking monster during care of magical creatures". Hermione rolled her eyes.  
At that moment, a great flapping noise filled the Great Hall as hundreds of owls flew in carrying parcels to all the students. One parcel caught the attention of everyone in the hall. It was big, bulky, and carried by roughly 10 barn owls. Harry cringed as it was dumped on their table and the owls flew away.  
"No! I wasn't finished with that cookie yet!" cried out Ron, trying to salvage the broken pieces of his fortune cookie, but there was no hope of getting any more of a fortune out of it than what was already written.  
Hermione stared at the package and said to Harry, "Well, aren't you going to open it? It's postmarked to you."  
Harry nodded slowly in response and began to peel off the brown paper. It was a rowing machine. Puzzled, Harry picked up the accompanying letter and read it.  
Dear Harry,  
I heard about your up coming mission from Dumbledore and figured this might help. Don't worry about the cost; I got it for a special price due to its…unique personality.  
Sirius.  
  
"Well, who sent it?" asked Ginny.  
"It's, er, from my godfather. A rowing machine to help us prepare for our mission."  
"Oh, grand. A rowing machine. Wow." Ron's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Doesn't really help. It's a boat we need, not a machine."  
"Well, actually I think I have a --," started Harry, only to be interrupted by Professor McGonagall.  
"Potter! What is this contraption and what is it doing on the Gryffindor table?"  
"Er, it's a rowing machine, Professor."  
"A rowing machine, Potter?" She stared at him incredulously.  
"Um, yes. To help me build muscles for -er- the up coming Quidditch match with Ravenclaw." He still couldn't bring himself to admit he had to learn canoeing.  
Professor McGonagall closed her eyes and sighed. She seemed to have given up trying to make sense out of anything anymore. "Very well, Potter. Get it into your Dormitory before your first class; I don't want to see it. Weasley," Ron looked up from the sad remains of his homework. "Help him carry it up there." She turned and walked off as Harry and Ron scooped up their school things, picked up the rowing machine, and heaved it out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a mass of staring students and Malfoy's petulant laughter.  
  
They lugged the rowing machine up the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room, carefully avoiding all of the trick steps. Ron and Harry set it down next to the wall and stared at it.   
"I wonder how it works…" Ron said reaching out and taking the blue and white instruction manual. "Galaxian Genuine People Personality Products, Inc. Um, okay."  
"Let's see what the instruction manual says, I mean on the inside." Harry took the dog-eared booklet from Ron and opened it to the first page.  
"'The Galaxian Company has been creating quality products to ease the lives of wizards and witches around the world since 1548. And now the latest addition to our collection: The Row-a-matic rowing machine, 1000. The Row-a-matic comes with a genuine people personality like all of our products and promises to increase your ability to row under all sorts of conditions. To receive a catalogue of other Genuine People Personality Products available, please send your owl to 59 Peregrene Road, Plymouth, England." Harry paused before continuing. "Your products name is Marvin."  
"Marvin? You've got a rowing machine named Marvin?"  
Harry grimaced. "Apparently. 'Galaxian Genuine People Personality Products, Inc. It's a wizarding company, Ron. Haven't you heard of it?"  
"Nah, must be one of those obscure ones."  
"But it's located in Plymouth and other locations around the world."  
Ron shrugged and they stood there, looking at the machine. Harry felt a sudden feeling of premonition as he looked at Marvin, who was blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Then the bell rang, informing them that they were late for Divination.  
  
Divination went, well, badly. Prof. Trelawney was not impressed with their excuse for being late ("The rowing machine made us late…Prof. McGonagall made us take it up to Gryffindor.") or with Ron's fortune cookie prediction. Even Harry's wasn't up to snuff. Although he was dying four different ways in the next Lunar month, she still had a bone to pick with him. "Harry, " said Prof. Trelawney, "your cookie's color clearly states that you won't die from crowning but from hanging…or was it Chinese water torture, ah never mind." Harry rolled his eyes at Ron who was being forced to explain the unlikeness of any monster ever speaking Chinese in a foot long essay.  
Potions was hardly any better. Snape seemed to have gotten worse over the course of the year and took strange joy in watching the fifth years struggle to create complicated invisibility potions. After Neville accidentally turned his Cauldron and table invisible for the fourth time, Snape assigned all of the students a four foot long essay with the title of "Analyze and Evaluate the Different Invisibility Potions and Their Antidotes."   
By lunch, Ron and Harry were definitely feeling the O.W.L preparation stress and wanted to collapse right then and there. Hermione, on the other hand, was still looking slightly chipper.   
"Boy, guess what we did in Arithmacy today!"  
"Let's not and say we did," mumbled Ron. Harry silently agreed with him.  
"What, Divination go badly?" Hermione asked with a smile.  
"Yeah," said Harry, "You could say that. That stupid rowing machine made us late for Divination."  
"And Professor Trelawney didn't predict that? How surprising." Hermione's sarcasm breathed new life into Ron and he laughed.  
"Yeah, but about that machine. Apparently it's some sort of what was that corporation's name, Harry?"  
"Genuine People Personality Products, Inc."  
"Wonder what that is…guess I'll just have to ask Mum 'cause I don't have a clue."  
"Tsk! Honestly, don't you guys ever read anything?" Hermione said in an annoyed tone of voice.  
"Well, fine then, Miss know-it-all. What is that company?"  
"It's an old wizarding company that went out of business about 50 years ago. It produced all sorts of things to help wizarding families around the house, in the field, etc. All of them had, well, genuine people personalities. It turns out that that was what caused it to go out of business. Nobody wanted their household appliances to have genuine personalities. You know, it gets kind of annoying when your mop refuses to mop the floor because it's tired or it doesn't think the floor is dirty enough or it is too busy flirting with the family brooms." Harry nodded. That made sense… "So, in the last 100 years, and in a last ditch effort to survive, the Company turned to sporting equipment. Their reasoning was that people would love having a broom that urged them on in Quidditch and complimented them when they did well. Around that time, canoeing and all sorts of boating was becoming increasingly popular and I guess that's probably when your rowing machine came out, Harry." Hermione took a spoonful of peas as Ron stared at her with a look that seemed to alternate between frank admiration and deep-felt disgust.  
"Just out of curiosity, Hermione, but is there a book in that library that you haven't read?"  
"Yes, most of the restricted ones. Madame Pince won't let me," Hermione replied with a smile. She turned to Harry and asked, "So, what is the name of your wonderful rowing machine, Harry?"  
"Marvin. His name is…Marvin."  
"Marvin?"  
"Yes. Marvin."  
Hermione Quickly shoved a spoonful of peas into her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. She swallowed and having regained her composure, said: "Well that's an interesting name, Harry, though not one I would ever give to anyone."  
Ron laughed and Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance.  
Marvin…indeed. 


	4. A Revelation

Chapter 4: A Revelation  
After lunch, the three of them headed out to Care of Magical Creatures at Hagrid's hut. As the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins arrived, Hagrid began to pull out various colorful birds. Harry looked at them and realized what they were Phoenixes.   
"Okay, gather 'round here. We'll be lookin' at the care of Phoenixes today. Anyone know what some of the magical properties a phoenix has?"  
To nobody's surprise, Hermione raised her hand.  
"A phoenix is immortal and periodically catches fire and burns down to ashes, only to rise again even better than before. The tears of a phoenix have magical healing properties, its feathers are often used in wands and they are known for their extreme loyalty."  
"Thank yeh, Hermione," Hagrid said with a smile. "Now, do any of yeh know how to care for a phoenix?"  
Nobody raised a hand and Hagrid smiled again. "I thought not an' that's why yeh'll be studyin' them for the next week. I know they're not as interestin' as other creatures, but they'll have to do." Malfoy muttered something under his breath to Goyle, presumably about Hagrid's definition of 'interestin' creatures'. "An' yeh best pay attention, too, Malfoy, 'cause this'll be on your O.W.L's." Everyone winced at the mention of their end of the year test, except for Hermione that is. She simply nodded as though this was nothing unexpected.  
Hagrid went on explaining the specifics of caring for a phoenix and finally told them to split up into groups of no more than three and take a phoenix to care for the rest of the hour.   
Harry took a golden colored phoenix and set it down on the wooden fence surrounding Hagrid's garden. Hermione took out a soda cracker (a phoenix's favorite food) and stuck it into his mouth as Harry adjusted the heavy, leather gloves he wore for protection against its talons.  
As Harry bent down, he whispered to Ron and Hermione, "I think I've found a boat we can use." Ron looked surprised. "Where?"  
"Well, that's the catch. Dobby came and visited me last night. He told me I could find a canoe, the only one that would help me beat Lord Voldemort." Ron cringed. "It's being guarded by someone deep in the Forbidden Forest."  
"Well, that's out of the question, then," said Hermione.  
"And why's that? If it's a good boat then we ought to consider it," protested Ron.  
"It's in the FORBIDDEN FOREST, Ron, and we can't go in there because it's forbidden. Besides, I'm a prefect and I can't just go around breaking rules all the time. If I were caught I could lose my prefect badge."  
"Yeah, and who else could the make prefect if you lost your badge? Neville?" Ron asked sarcastically.  
"Maybe. You never know," Hermione retorted.  
"Hermione, you didn't hear all of what Dobby said," Harry said quietly. If they were going to be a team, they would need to work together. "He told me that it was the best canoe and the only one that will let us beat Vol-sorry, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and only the person meant to use the canoe will be able to use it to defeat the Dark Lord." He stopped and looked at Ron and Hermione.  
Hermione took a deep breath and said, "Well, I guess we could speak to the other members of our team about it and see what they say. I don't know." She looked a bit uncertain about the whole prospect of going to the Forest and Ron grinned. "You've never been in the Forbidden Forest, have you Hermione?" She nodded. "First year. I got a detention from Professor McGonagall for being out of class. "Well, then you should already know that with the twins on our team, it's more likely than not that we'll be going into the Forest.  
Sure enough, when Ron, Hermione, and Harry approached the other half of their team, Fred and George's faces light up instantly. "We'll go Sunday night," George decided. Hermione frowned at him. "Why Sunday and not tonight if you're so eager to go?" "Because," Fred explained patiently, "if we don't come back we'll miss school instead of the weekend."  
Hermione opened her mouth to argue but Ron stopped her. "Look, Hermione, they're right. You just can't argue with that kind of logic. I say we just enjoy this weekend for all it's worth."  
Harry nodded in agreement. "Sunday night it is, then? And everyone's going, no exceptions.  
They all nodded in agreement. "Anyone up for a game of Chess?" Ron asked them.   
"Eh, why not," Harry said, "I might even win this time."  
Ron laughed. "No, sorry, but nobody beats me at chess." 


	5. Into the Forest

Chapter 5: Into the Forest  
The weekend passed quickly, much too quickly for Harry's liking. Saturday's Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, which had been eating in at the back of Harry's mind since Thursday, passed easily enough and Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup for the second year in a row. As Fred put it, pretending to wipe a tear from his eyes, "Wood would be proud," and so he was. Everyone on the Gryffindor Quidditch team received congratulatory letters from him the next morning.  
The rest of the weekend was spent in Gryffindor Common Room; Hermione doing her homework while tutoring Ginny in Ancient Runes, and the rest of the Canoe team steadfastly avoiding doing anything practical, so strong was their conviction that they would die.  
As Ron and Harry started up another game of gobstones, Hermione's stickler personality finally got the better of her.  
"If you guys aren't going to do anything productive, could you at least waste time elsewhere? I have homework to do, as do the two of you and with the O.W.L.s coming up, I don't know how I'm going to manage. You must have some homework you need to do by Monday."  
"Sure we do, Hermione. Face it, though. The odds are against us. Tonight we're going to face the Guardian of the canoe who has a notorious reputation for eating people. There's not going to be enough of us left to take the O.W.L.s," Ron explained carefully.  
Hermione replied, in all sincerity, "I'll still be taking those bloody O.W.L.s, devoured by a hairy monster or not. I've worked too hard to let a silly thing like death stop me!"  
She has a point, thought Harry. Out of all Gryffindors, Hermione seemed most likely to die of stress before they took their O.W.L.s in four weeks and, like Professor Binns, she was determined enough to take them that being a 'has-been' didn't seem like much of a long shot.  
Ginny looked up from her translation, laughed and then added, " You did say that Ron would be devoured by a large, hairy monster, didn't you Hermione? Maybe Professor Trelawney was wrong and you do have the makings of a true seer."   
Hermione laughed. "Mind you, it still has to be seen whether or not it speaks Chinese yet. Or, for that matter, eats Ron."  
Ron relented and pulled out his potions essay, which he had only just begun. "I think one of the reasons why it's not a good idea to spill invisibility potions is that it makes Snape mad and that is never a good thing. There is also not antidote for a pissed off Snape," he said writing in the air above his parchment.   
All in all, it was a good day.  
Then the evening rolled around. Harry, Hermione, Ron, George, Fred, and Ginny all waited patiently for the common room to empty. Once the Creevy Brothers left ("Harry, don't forget, we're sitting next to you at breakfast tomorrow!"), Harry ran up to his dorm room and grabbed his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. Suddenly, a problem occurred to him: how were 6 people, two of them eighteen, going to fit under one small cloak?  
When he expressed this fear down in the common room, Hermione just smiled and reaching under her robes produced two vials of invisibility potion.   
"Hermione," exclaimed Ron. "Have you been smuggling supplies out of potions again?"  
Hermione laughed and said, " Smuggling, no. Openly taking it, yes. Now, Fred, George, and I will take the potion. No, don't take it yet," she cried as George eagerly reached for his. "It's only enough to last a half-hour, after that, the potion wears off and we still need some for the return journey." "If there is a return journey, that is," interrupted Ron. "Ginny, Harry, and you, Ron, will use the cloak," Hermione continued as though she had never heard Ron. "Now, Harry, you've got the map, correct?" Harry nodded.  
He held out the map, tapped it with his wand, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Spidery writing appeared and Ginny let out a gasp; then it occurred to Harry that she was the only one in the group that hadn't seen the map before.   
"What is that?" she asked. "It's the Marauder's Map. It shows a map of Hogwarts as well as where everyone in Hogwarts is. This way, we won't get caught," Harry explained. "See, there's Filch and Mrs. Norris on the second floor, Snape's in his office and Peeves is flooding the Girl's lavatory again. Everyone ready?" They all nodded an affirmative and headed out of the portrait hole.   
Standing in front of the Fat Lady, Ron, Ginny, and Harry disappeared underneath the cloak and Hermione, George, and Fred took their potion. Once they too were invisible, Harry took another glance at the map. Peeves was now destroying the History of Magic room and the bubble labeled "Filch" was headed in his direction. If they were going to make it, now was the time. Harry whistled and they were off.  
After walking for 15 minutes, they reached the Entrance Hall in more or less one piece. Ron had stubbed his toe on a suit of Armor, which immediately began to laugh. It was only due to Hermione's quick thinking ("quietus") that they avoided catching Filch's attention. They exited the school and Harry stopped Ginny and Ron to make sure they hadn't lost anyone. Shortly after they stopped, George, Fred, and Hermione ran into them.  
"Ouch!" whispered George. "Why'd you stop?"  
"Good, we're all here," Harry confirmed. "Now, onto the Forest."  
They began to walk again and shortly arrived in the Forest shortly before the potion wore off. Harry threw the invisibility cloak off of the three of them and stuffed it into his back pocket, where it wouldn't get in the way. Hermione and the twins appeared shortly.   
"Okay," breathed Harry. "I suggest we follow the path until something -er- unusual happens. Wands at the ready, of course."  
The six of them took out their wands and whispered "Lumos!" before setting off on the path deep inside the woods.  
They walked without talking for next half-hour but Fred and George began to hum the "Volga Boatmenn Song" during the start of the second hour. It's hard to tell whether or not they would have been stopped- or even heard- by the large eight-legged creatures had Fred and George not been humming. But it is known that shortly into the second hour of their trek, two very large spiders stopped the group.  
"Oh, no," murmured Ron. "Not them again." Fred, George, and Ginny, who had not heard of Harry and Ron's second year adventure, looked at him confused.  
"The spiders," he tried to explain. "Aragog…(The spiders clicked their pincers together at the sound of his name.) An ex-pet of Hagrid's …he tried to eat us when we paid him a visit while we where trying to figure out who was causing the attacks…" He trailed off, glancing uncertainly at Ginny. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, shouldn't we figure out what they want? They don't seem to be eating anyone yet."  
Point, thought Harry. "Do you know Aragog?" he asked them. They didn't respond, but moved a bit away from the group, then back towards them."  
Hermione watched the spiders do their odd dance for a little bit before saying, "I think they want us to follow them."  
"What?" Ron stared at Hermione, filled with disbelief. "Hermione, they tried to EAT us three years ago! And you're suggesting that we follow them?"  
"I don't hear you giving any better suggestions Ron. Besides, as Ginny said, they haven't eaten us yet and even if they try to, there are six of us and we have wands. They don't."  
George sat down on a stump and made himself comfortable. As the others watched him curiously, he explained, " With them arguing, we probably won't be going anywhere for the next hour so I might as well be comfortable."  
Ginny stood up and said exasperatedly, "They can stand there all night if they want but I'm going to follow the darn spiders and find that boat so I can go to bed." And with that, Ginny marched off toward the spiders.  
Hermione and Ron stopped arguing immediately and Ron, forgetting his fear of spiders momentarily, chased after her. "Ginny, no! You're not going there alone! Mum'll kill me if you get eaten!" Harry decided that it would be better to go with Ginny than remain there with Fred and George, after all, he already had experience dealing with oversized spiders.  
Hermione smiled smugly at Ron following the spiders he despised and was against following. She quickly joined Harry and Ginny heading in the same direction. George and Fred, noticing that they were finally on the way again, started walking and mumbling quietly to each other.  
The Spiders, finally seeing their chattels following them, started off at a rapid pace and led the group deeper into the woods. 


	6. Aragog's Return

Chapter 6: Aragog's Return  
They followed the large spiders deeper into the Forest until they reached the nesting grounds of the Acromantulas. Ron groaned and Hermione looked at him, concerned. "What's wrong?" "Spiders. Too many spiders." "Oh, yeah. Don't worry, Ron. I'll protect you." Harry stifled a laugh, but was cut short as he noticed what the Spiders were doing. Their guides had left them standing in the middle of the nest while they went to the cave and yelled out, "Aragog!"  
Harry looked at Ron, whose face mirrored the shock he felt. Aragog, again?   
"What," Aragog yelled out from his cave.  
"We have found the Harry Potter for you!"  
Slowly, Aragog emerged from his cave and Ron gripped his wand, struggling to decide whether or not he should kill him or wait to hear what he says. Hermione placed a restraining hand on his arm to keep him from using his wand.   
Aragog addressed Harry: "We meet again, young Potter. Tell me. Why are you here now? Is Hagrid in trouble again?" He examined Harry with all eight eyes and Harry thought Moody's eye was piercing but it was nothing compared to having eight large spider eyes trained on him.   
"Er- no, actually, Hagrid is fine or as fine as he ever is. We were just looking for a boat."  
"A boat? Wouldn't the lake be a more appropriate place to look for a boat then the Forest?"  
"Yes, but this not just any boat, it's a canoe. I don't know much more about it except that it will help my friends and I defeat the Dark Lord at canoeing."  
Aragog looked at Harry; he seemed to be sizing him up for some reason. Finally, he waved one of his back legs in some sort of a gesture and the spiders behind him scurried off into the cave.  
Ron looked like he was doing to go into convulsions any second now as the other spiders began to approach. To his credit, Fred and George weren't looking like their usual selves either. Ginny, however, was merely standing there, holding her wand and watching the spiders as one might a butterfly or another common insect.   
"Harry Potter," Aragog addressed him again, "Do you remember the first time we met?"  
"Yes, you tried to eat us, even though we weren't doing anything wrong," Harry accused.   
"Ah, but you weren't doing anything right either."Harry looked at Aragog, confused. "Huh?"  
"Do you know why I stayed here, in this forest, when I could have escaped in order to avoid getting murdered as Dippet would have liked?"  
Harry shrugged. "No, I don't. I figured it was Hagrid's doing."  
"You are partially correct. You see, Dumbledore placed me here to guard something he felt was more important than anything else. He knew I would take care of it because Acromantuals are territorial and always devour all who cross into their territory…unless they have helped them in someway."  
Hermione gasped and Ron turned to look at her. "What now?"  
"I've…I've just had an epiphany!" She spoke now to Aragog. "You're the Guardian of the Canoe, aren't you? Dumbledore sent you here to guard it. Tom Riddle would have been at the height of his rowing capabilities."  
Aragog nodded. "You are very intelligent for a human being. I did not have the pleasure of meeting you before. What is you name?"  
"Hermione Granger." He nodded his immensely big head. "Yes, I am the guardian of the canoe and I suppose you want the boat?"  
Harry nodded. "Yes, but Dobby (He's a house-elf) said that I would have to do the Guardian a favor in order to get the goat or else I'd be devoured. Why are you so eager to be rid of it now?"  
"Young Potter, when you last came here, you hadn't done me a favor yet. But now you have and killing ou greatest enemy is a considerable favor."  
"Ah," whispered Hermione, "the Basilisk."  
"And here is the boat. You have earned it, Harry Potter." Six spiders emerged from the cave, bearing a green and yellow canoe upon their backs. They set it down in front of Harry and slowly his friends gathered around him. A large red brid was emblazoned on the side. It was a phoenix. Harry ran his hand around the bird. His mind seemed to spin. They had learnt about phoenixes in Care of Magical Creatures on Friday. He looked down at his wand. Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix, had given the two feathers used to make his and Voldemort's wand. "Phoenix," he whispered. Ginny looked over at him, questioningly. He shook his head. Later. She nodded understanding his meaning.  
"It's name is the Green Flame Torch," Aragog said loftily.  
"The Green Flame Torch? Does that bear any relation to the Green Torch we used earlier this year to try and defeat Voldemort with?" Harry asked.  
"Ah, you're referring to the History of the Green Torch?" The Group nodded. "No, I'm sorry," Aragog answered. "They have absolutely nothing in common with each other. However, green torch is sometimes mistaken for the Green Flame Torch which actually can drive evil away. Or at least it could until…," he cleared his throat. "The Green Torch, as I'm sure Dumbledore has explained to you, Harry, merely displaces evil and disturbing thoughts."  
"Hermione!" Ron groaned, "You mixed them up. The Green Torch doesn't drive away evil, the Green Flame Torch does! We spent all winter trying to kill Voldemort with something that doesn't kill!"  
Hermione scowled. "Oh, for god's sake! I'm not perfect! Get over it. Besides, we still found the Green Flame Torch, didn't we?"  
"Well," Harry said, standing up. "Let's get this back to the Castle grounds; it's getting late or early as the case may be. We'll carry it with three people on each side. Come on."  
They moved to the canoe and heaved it up onto their shoulders and slowly started off, back towards the castle. Harry's mind seemed to be working out a problem he was only learning the question to. The name of their team…  
Finally, after they had walked for half an hour, he called a rest break. "I think I know what to name our team," he told them. "The Order of the Phoenix."  
"The Order of the Phoenix?" Why that animal?" Fred asked, puzzled.  
"Well, for many reasons. Mostly, I guess, because of the fact it's on the side of our boat." Everyone quickly glanced at the side of the canoe. "Then I suppose because of the importance of the phoenix. It can't just be coincidence, can it? This is right. I can feel it."  
Hermione nodded. "I like it, Harry." Eventually, the rest of them agreed and they continued their way back up towards the castle. 


	7. Fun With Snape

Chapter 7: Fun with Snape  
As they neared the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Hermione took out her vial of invisibility potion and swallowed some of it before handing the rest to Fred and Georde, who split the rest. They quickly dumped the canoe behind Hagrid's hut with a note explaining its sudden appearance, hoping he would understand. Harry pulled his invisibility cloak over Ginny, Ron, and himself and they walked across the field towards Hogwarts.  
Harry reached into his pocket for the Marauder's Map and found nothing. "Oh, no." He searched all of his pockets again only to get the same result. No map. "Crap," Harry muttered.   
Ron looked over at Harry, "What's wrong?" He whispered. "The map…I can't find it." They approached the door and opened it slowly.  
"Well, well, well," a voice Harry would know in his sleep said. "If it's not Potter and his fan club out for a midnight stroll." Harry stopped dead in his tracks and looked up to see Snape, holding the Marauder's Map in one hand and his wand in the other.  
"Ow!" Fred, George and Hermione, due to their inability to see Ron, Harry, and Ginny stopped in front of them, ran smack into them.  
"Ah and here are the rest of them." Snape pulled out his wand and said, "Apparatum," and the three of them appeared. Fred swore loudly.  
"Potter, off with that ridiculous cloak. You really don't think I don't know there's three of you under there?" Harry sighed and pulled off the cloak. Snape smirked and said, "Into my office now, all of you."  
Once they arrived, the six of them stood in front of Snape's desk like souls awaiting judgement day as Snape paced behind it. "Now, to decide on the perfect punishment. Sneaking around outside after dark, removing materials from the potions classroom," he pointed to Hermione then reached over and pulled a twig out of Ron's hair. "And going into the Forbidden Forest, which, as its name reveals, is strictly forbidden." He sighed in mock sorrow. "Potter, Potter, Potter. Ever since you came to this school you have been granted more leeway than anyone else. It is, I believe, time for that to stop." He paused and stared each of them in the eye in turn. "There is a Hogsmeade visit next Saturday. None of you will be going ,except for Fred and George Weasly. They are beyond hope for redemption." Fred's face broke into an evil grin. " You, Weasly, howeer," Snape said, pointing at Fred, "will receive a detention."  
Fred looked at Snape, surprised. "Why?"  
"For swearing. Now, consider yourselves lucky. You should be expelled." He paused. " Not that that couldn't still happen, but it seems to be a school policy that Potter and His Fan Club are beyond reproach. I shall mention this to Professor Dumbledore anyway." He ushered them out of his office and slammed the door shut behind them with his usual friendly addittude.  
"You do that," Fred muttered bitterly as they walked towards Gryffindor Tower. "Think of the shame! A detention just for swearing! I'll never live it down." He frowned at the frayed edge of his robe.   
Hermione plucked another twig out of her hair and dropped it to the floor. "Don't worry, Fred. I'm sure the more sane of us would consider it a nice respite from your typical escapades. Snape was right, he did let us off pretty easily."  
"Yeah," Ron said, barely concealing the sneer in his voice, "You didn't lose your precious Prefect badge, after all."  
"Honestly! Is that all you think I care about? Because if it is, you are dead wrong. We could have been expelled, punished what not. Snape was being nicer than I ever remember him being."  
"Gee, he must be getting soft in his old age," Ron said sarcastically. "I must have known something was up when he decided we weren't worth his time instead of making our lives a living hell."  
Harry rolled his eyes as another Hermione-Ron conflict started. His eyes met Ginny's and she shook her head in disgust. George and Fred suddenly seemed particularly interested in picking their robes clean of stickers and fuzz.  
"They are always like this now and it is really starting to get on my nerves," Ginny whispered.  
"I know. It's been like this since about the Yule Ball, over a year ago. So, do you think they'll ever shut up and start being nice to each other?"  
"Is Voldemort a kind, charitable old man?" She asked rhetorically.  
"I guess not."  
They reached the tower and the first thing that caught Harry'seyes was the rowing maching, propped up against the wall. He swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat. Sirius had sent it to him a while ago and other than that, he hadn't answered any letters. Not a single word. Harry tried not to worry and he tried even harder not to look worried, but still, it bothered him. What if he did have trouble with the ministry? What if he was caught by Voldemort? His fate would be the same, the Dementors had quickly left their posts at Azkaban for more profitable employment under Voldemort. Ron stopped sniping at Hermione long enough to notice where Harry's gaze fell.   
"Hey, mate, what are you worried about?"  
Harry jumped slightly, then replied in his calmest manner, "Nothing, just our mission really. I think we should start taking turns training on that machine every night, for at least 20 minutes. Then we'll take the boat out on Friday if the weather's fine. Alright?"  
The team nodded its approval and they climbed up the stairs to their respective dorms, their feet dragging with weariness and worry. 


	8. A Meeting

Chapter 8: A Meeting  
The next week was pretty typical and stress filled. The specter of the   
OWLs moved ever closer and practicing rowing with Marvin provided some   
welcome relief from the monotony of study, if not sress.  
"Row harder," Marvin ordered Fred one evening.  
"I can't!" Fred protested, sweat dripping from his forehead.  
"Then you'll never get anywhere in life, will you?" Marvin offered up a fake   
sigh. "That's the way it is these days. Everyone quits when things stop   
going the way they want them to. Sometimes, I really don't see why I   
bother anymore. All my encouragement is for nought. I should just go   
throw myself in the heap pile."  
Fred muttered something to the extent of "I wish," and started   
rowing again with a vigor fueled by anger.  
"Oh, come on, Fred, be nice to it," Ginny scolded, "He is just trying   
to do his job. Imagine if every time you made a new Weasley's Wizzard   
Wheezes everyone told you to go away and caused trouble."  
Fred paused a moment to glare at her. "They do."  
Ginny giggled. "Oh that's right, I forgot," and went back to her   
runes translation.  
Harry sighed. This certainly wasn't going the way he'd planned. Their   
studies were taking up more time than they should and more than half of   
Gryffindor wanted to throw Marvin out the window. It was Saturday and   
they were still stuck in the common room, bent over homework. They had   
been hunched over in the library, but Ron and Hermione couldn't stop   
bickering, so Fred, Harry, and Ginny bravely retreated and let them fight it   
out. George, on the other hand, was revelling in 7th year laziness and   
took the day off to go to Hogsmeade. Harry really wanted to hate him for   
it.  
Suddenly, the door burst open and George rushed in. "Hey, guys!   
Guess what! Guess who I ran into in Hogsmeade!"  
Harry looked up from his essay, "Alright, who?"  
"You have to guess."  
Fred dropped the rowing machine, exhausted and stood up.   
"George, friend, I would more than venture to say that no one here is   
very keen for a guessing game right now." He fingered his wand,   
suggestively. "Now who is it?"  
His eyes on Fred's wand, George relented. "Alright, fine, if you guess   
want to be that way: it was Sean. You know, smuggler, outlaw, the   
coolest adult person I have ever met?"  
"Oh, yes, I remember," Ginny said vaguely. "Your idol."  
"Damn straight." George nodded. "He told me he'd like to meet with   
us at Hagrid's place and that it was BYOB, whatever that means."  
Harry thought this over. "He wants us to meet him?"  
"Yes."  
"Did he list us by name or did he just say 'you and your friends' and   
you assumed to know what he meant?"  
"He said, and I quote, 'I would really like to talk to you and the rest   
of your canoe team. It's important. Blah, blah, blah." George revealed this   
information in the best monotone he could manage.  
"Oh. In that case, let's go." He slammed his book shut and turned to   
Ginny, "Want to come with and get the quarrllers out of the library?"  
"Sure," Ginny closed her book loudly and stood up.  
"Ok, we'll meet you guys at Hagrid's in a few minutes then."  
Fred and George nodded and they headed off.   
When Ginny and Harry reached the library, it was empty save for a   
group of 5th year Ravenclaws discussing advanced Defense against the   
Dark Arts methods.   
Ginny looked around, puzzled. "Where'd they go?"  
"I don't know. They couldn't have gone back to the Common Room,   
we would have run into them on the way." He decided to ask the   
Ravenclaws. "Excuse me, have any of you seen Ron Weasley and   
Hermione Granger? They were here studying earlier today."  
A dark blond Ravenclaw giggled. "Oh, yes, they were here."   
Harry smiled tightly. He was getting rather tired of people giggling   
when they spoke to him. One would think after five years, they'd be used   
to him by now. Even Ginny had gotten over her giggling and blushing fits   
and was now good, if not young, company. "Good, would you happen to   
know where they went?"  
The Ravenclaw shook her head. "Sorry. I don't know for sure, but   
they may have gone outside."  
Ginny wrinkled her brow. "Outside? To study?"  
The Ravenclaws broke out into laughter. "Who said they were   
studying?" the blond one asked.  
Harry refused to be brought into that conversation. He had early   
learned not even to suggest the idea that the two might like each other in   
either one of their presences. "So, you don't know?"  
"Nope."  
"Well, thanks anyway." Harry turned and dragged Ginny along with   
him.   
"Do you think they went outside?" Ginny asked as they headed out   
the doors.  
"Maybe, though it is hard for me to imagine that they would be   
doing anything but studying."  
"Oh, come on. You know they like each other. Only a blind and deaf   
person could miss that."  
"I know, but this close to OWLs? Hermione would rather drown than   
stop studying for them."  
Ginny shrugged. "Perhaps."  
"Oh, what's that supposed to mean?"  
She shrugged again. "I don't know. Make it mean whatever you   
want it to."  
Harry seethed silently. This was just going to be one of those days.  
They headed into Hagrid's Hut and shut the door behind them. It   
was dark with a fire going, which made it rather hot.  
"Hiya, kid," a deep voice greated them with an American drawl.   
"Long time, no see."  
Harry grinned. "Hi, Sean. What brings you here this time?"  
They had last met Sean, the American flying carpet smuggler during   
their winter term at the Three Broomsticks. He and his vampire side-kick,   
Satchel, had been instrumental in their attempt to destroy Voldemort with   
the Green Torch. Naturally, it hadn't worked but that didn't ruin the   
excitement of meeting Sean again.  
"Eh, I was just bringing in another shipment when I ran into this   
little deviant here," he pointed at George. "I meant to come talk to you   
guys but later in the week. Then I just decided that there is no time like   
the present and told George togather all of you here. This isn't it is it?" He   
looked over their group.  
"No, it's not," Harry answered. "We're still waiting on Ron and   
Hermione."  
"Hmm, to wait or not to wait," Sean considered, folding his arms   
behind his head. "oh, I guess I'll wait. This information is for their ears   
too." Sean grinned broadly.  
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Information like what?" he asked   
suspiciously.  
"Geez, hold your horses. Wait until the rest of your friends get here.   
I'm not much into repeating myself." He turned to Hagrid and pointedly   
changed the topic. "So, Hagrid, you in the market for a flying carpet that   
can get you where you need to go faster than a gleaming firebolt?"  
Harry shook his head and turned to watch out the window for Ron   
and Hermione. Ginny had boldly decided to go look for them. It was just   
like Sean to use every opportunity he could to make a sale.  
Satchel merely sat in a chair drinking out of a large canteen that   
was more than likely filled with blood. He noticed Harry's gaze and smiled   
at him, revealing a blood stained mouth. Harry supressed a shudder and   
smiled back before returning his gaze to the window. George got up from   
his seat and walked up to Sean. "Say, Sean, are you in the mood to   
diversify your business?"  
Sean looked at him appraisingly. "Diversify how? If it's not illegal, I   
won't sell it. You know that."  
"Yeah, yeah, I know that," George said eagerly as he pulled out a   
canary cream. "If these aren't already illegal, they soon will be. I call them   
canary creams. Anyone who eats them turns into a canary!" Sean laughed   
. "Man, this is one of those times I fear for the future of the wizarding   
world." He shook his head in mock sorrow. Harry grinned. Weasley's   
Wizard Wheezes were the least of his worries. Where were they?   
Aha! There they were, heading across the school's yard towards   
Hagrid's Hut. "They're coming," Harry informed the twins, who were now   
trying to get Sean to buy some of their canary creams and fake wands.  
"Great, it's about time! Look here, Sean," George said eagerly,   
trying to wrap up a sale. "I'll show you just how well these creams work   
when Ron gets in here. Then perhaps you'll care for some."  
"Boy, you just don't quit do you? Heck, if your parents wouldn't   
have a fit over it, I'd take you in as a salesman." Ginny, Ron, and   
Hermione entered the hut and broke Sean off.  
"'Ere they are, the rest of the team; tell you what, George, we'll   
discuss this later." Sean rubbed his hands together and a faint line of   
distast formed on Hermione's forehead as she recognized who the visitor   
Ginny had spoken of was. Ron was thrilled, of course. There was nothing   
he liked better than things that annoyed Hermione and he was rapidly   
becoming one himself. "Sean!" He exclaimed, "Satchel! How are you   
guys?"  
Sean stood up and shook Ron's hand with another grin. "We're   
good. How are you doing, Ron? Enjoying the rowing machine?"  
Harry stared at Sean in surprise. "How did you know about that?"  
"I'm the one who found it for Sirius for such a low price." He paused   
conspiratorially. "Um, by the way, I wouldn't make too much noise about   
havin' one. It's not exactly--" he wrinkled his brow, then it smoothed out   
when he remembered. "--kosher." Harry swallowed. Just what he needed-  
- a semi-legal rowing machine. Meanwhile, George, on the other side of   
the hut had a look on his face that suggested deep and penetrating   
betrayal. "You! You!" He sputtered. "You contributed to the appearance of   
that-- that thing??!"  
"Yes," Sean answered calmly, taking a sip of his drink. "I did."  
"Don't you know how annoying it is? Not a day passes where I don't   
to chuck it out the window or something?"  
Sean put his mug down. "George, let me give you a piece of advice.   
Business advice, if you will: If life gives you lemons, find someone you   
hate to throw them at." He smiled at himself proudly.  
"Um, Sean," Hermione said timidly, "Isn't it 'when life gives you   
lemons, make lemonade?'"  
Sean leaned towards her. "What, do you think Satchel and I got   
where we are in life by making lemonade? Hell no."  
Ron's face broke into a devilish grin, while Hermione seemed to   
have received a life defining revelation.   
"Yeah, so Sirius told me about your mission and he wanted to help   
out anyway he could. Thus the rowing machine. Only problem --and the   
reason I called you here -- is that I haven't seen him since."  
Harry's head popped up from his studious observation of his robes.   
"What do you mean," he asked quietly.  
Sean hesitated noticibly. "Well, he told me we'd meet same place   
and same time in two weeks, to make sure the delivery got there and to   
plan further action. He never showed up. I didn't mind at first--I could   
spend years there, drinking, taking in the sights--" Satchel gave him a   
warning look and Sean jumped out of his reverie. "Um, sorry about that. I   
just mean, I'm a little concerned. Have any of you heard anything from   
him?"  
Harry shook his head. "Not so much as a letter. I wrote him back   
after I received the machine. He usually writes sooner."  
"Maybe he's just been busy...on the move, you know." Ginny   
supplied hopefully  
Sean shook his head. "No, he's been helping me out for a while. He   
wouldn't go without leaving some sort of message." Harry felt his heart   
sink to his stomach.  
They all sat there in the hut in silence. Every once in a while,   
someone (usually Hermione) would pop up with an explanation or a way   
to get in contact with Sirius. But there was always some objection. But no   
one dared mention the possibilty that was on everyone's mind. Then,   
suddenly the door to Hagrid's cabin burst open and Dumbledore walked   
quickly in..  
"Harry? Harry? Oh, there you are Harry." Dumbledore seemed   
strangely relieved and out of breath. "I thought you would be here. I have   
some bad news. The Ministry of Magic has just contacted me: they've   
captured Sirius and they're holding him in Azkaban. He's to be executed   
within the next 48 hours!" 


	9. A Daring Rescue

Chapter 9: A Daring Rescue  
Harry felt his heart fall even further to his feet and stared at   
Dumbledore in shock. "No, it can't be!" Harry turned to see Hermione half   
way out of her seat, looking as though she'd just seen a ghost. "The   
Ministry doesn't have any jurisdiction where he is! How could they arrest   
him?"  
Dumbledore sighed wearily. "He was in England. He came back. I   
don't know why and I can't say why. But I do know that we can't leave   
him there because I think Voldemort is going after him."  
"Voldemort is going to Azkaban?" Harry felt something go click in his   
mind. "Professor, how is he going there?"  
"By canoe," Dumbledore answered simply.  
"Then that settles it." Harry looked at his friends and teammates   
expectantly. "We have to go. This could be our only chance to rescue him   
and defeat Voldemort at the same time." He turned to Sean. "Sean,   
thanks for bringing us your news. I can't ask you to come but--"  
"It's too late. I'm coming. Sirius has been a great help to me. I can't   
let him rot in that hell of a prison."  
Harrry nodded. "Okay. Everyone, let's go get our stuff together. We   
leave tonight."  
"But Harry, how are we going to get the canoe to the coast? We're   
in the middle of Britain!" Ginny asked.  
Harry looked at Dumbledore, who offered no suggestions. "Um,   
we'll have to carry it I guess. There really is no other way. We'll tie it to   
our broomsticks and fly it out there."  
"We can put a feather light spell on it so it won't weigh as much!"   
Hermione supplied eagerly.  
"Good idea. Okay, let's get ready. Wear some warm clothes." With   
that, Harry stood up and walked to the door, his teammates following.   
Behind him, Sean, Satchel, and Hagrid sat there finishing up their malt   
beers with a lot less enthusiasm than they had begun them.  
As he trudged up the path to the castle, Harry could hardly begin to   
identify the number of strange feelings consuming him now. Sirius had   
been like a father to him--he was his Godfather, afterall. He had looked   
after Harry and had provided guidance when Harry felt he couldn't turn to   
anyone else. The least Harry could do was get him out of that prison and   
away from Voldemort. At the very least, they could prove Sirius's   
innocence. It was mainly a feeling of desperation and a boost of adreniline   
that kept him from collapsing with every step he took. He can't die, Harry   
thought. He can't die. If he does, I'll never get to leave the Dursleys. I'll   
never know what life was like for my parents. Please, don't let him die!   
In the middle of his reverie, Harry felt a small, warm hand touch his   
back lightly, comfortingly. He turned slightly to see Ginny there. "I'm   
sorry, Harry. It'll be alright, you know that."  
He nodded numbly. "I hope so, Ginny, but who can tell?" Then he   
smiled, bravely. "Come on, we've got to get our boat to the coast.  
After changing into warmer clothes, Harry went out to join the rest   
of his friends in the field where they were tying the Green Torch to their   
brooms. Hermione was standing next to it, murmuring the spell that   
would make the boat feather light. Sean was over to one side standing   
against his prized Yugo, looking at a map with Satchel. He hurried over to   
them. "So, know what you're going to do?"  
"Yeah, we're going to run interference and make sure there's no   
trouble getting you to that Island. We'll also keep you kids heading the   
right direction." He shook his head. "What is that man thinking, sending   
kids to fight Voldemort alone?"   
"To each his own destiny," Harry looked to see Satchel staring at   
him with a strange glow in his eyes. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable   
and moved away to see get on his Firebolt. "Okay, Order of the Phoenix.   
Mount your brooms." They all got on their brooms and Sean and Satchel   
got into the Yugo and took off. Then Harry shouted up, and all the brooms   
rose uniformily; Harry's broom had been rigged so that whatever his   
broom did, the others would follow. It would keep them together, and   
hopefully out of trouble. Then they too took off, flying into the air and   
towards an unpredictable morning. 


	10. The Race to the Island

Chapter 10: The Race to the Island  
As much as Harry would have loved to say he did, he couldn't say he enjoyed   
flying in the night sky, miles high above the land in the freezing cold. Here he was, flying   
point towards the coast of Great Britain where he would then place himself and all his   
friends in a canoe in the middle of a cold sea against the most powerful wizard the   
magical community had ever faced. It simply wasn't fair! Why was it always he who had   
these duties? He had done the same his first, second, and third years at Hogwarts and,   
luckily, everything had turned out alright. But it seemed like each year the stakes rose a   
little higher. Each year, someone close to him was placed in greater danger. Last year   
the worst had finally happened: Harry had led Cedric Diggory to his death.  
There hadn't been a single night after that when Harry hadn't wondered how things   
would have ended had he told Cedric to duck, had he abandoned all pretense of chilvary   
and just taken the trophy himself. Maybe Cedric would still be alive.  
He shook himself out of his steadily darker thoughts as a cold wind blew threw his robes   
and froze him. „Ok," he turned and shouted to his teammates."I think we've reached   
maximum altitude!"  
„Ladies and Gentlemen, we have now reached cruising altitude and the seatbelt signs   
have been turned off. We ask, however, that you please wear your seatbelts when   
seated. Thank you," Hermione said in her best flight attendent's voice. Without   
exception, the entire Order of the Phoenix turned and starred at her. „What?" she said,   
„none of you have heard—„ she realized her company was filled with 5 members of a   
magical family and looked to Harry in desperation. „Surely you've heard it! You've lived   
with Muggles your whole life!"  
„And spent most of it in a closet," Harry reminded her.  
Fred let out a snicker. „So, you mean to say you've finally come out of the closet,   
Harry?" He yelled at Ginny now. „Sorry, Ginny, but it seems you're out of luck. Harry's   
attentions are directed elsewhere!"  
To her credit, Ginny didn't blush and continued to look directly ahead as though she   
hadn't even heard. Harry decided to do the same. The twins , however, were oblivious.   
„Maybe they didn't hear!" shouted George.  
„I think you may be right!" Fred shouted back and pointed his wand to his troat to   
produce a voice of loudspeaker quality. „Ginny," he shouted, „I said that Harry's not—„  
Hermione cut him off quickly by shouting, „Quietus!" Fred's voice was reduced to a   
thankfully inaudible whisper. „Thank you," Hermione said with a note of satisfaction and   
Harry and Ginny threw her looks of gratefulness. Sometimes, (well, when he wasn't   
thinnking of Quidditch) Harry couldn't wait until the twins graduated.  
They were flying above the clouds now and the sky grew darker as daylight faded and   
night set in. The temperature, already cold, plummeted and Harry gave a silent prayer of   
thanks when Hermione cast a spell of warmth upon them.  
Sighing, Ginny said, „I really don't know howthe Muggles manage without magic. They'd   
freeze out here."  
Ron gave his sister an appraising look. „First of all, Ginny, they wouldn't be up here on   
broomsticks anyway. They'd be in a--- in a --- What's it called again, Hermione? A   
Skybus?"  
„You mean an Aeroplane, Ron?"  
„Yes, that's exactly what I mean."  
„You know, maybe if you'd taken Muggle Studies, you'd know that."  
„Well, gee, thank you for that amazingly helpful tidbit of information. Maybe if I could   
just go back in time and get myself born to a muggle family this wouldn't be an issue,"   
Ron replied sarcastically.  
Harry rolled his eyes and glanced down at his navigational instrument. He was pretty   
sure Ron and Hermione couldn't go a day without bickering. Then again, they had been   
spending a lot of time together lately.  
Luckily, the Navigator chimed just then signaling that it was time to begin their descent.  
„Hey, everybody," Harry called," we're descending!." He angled his broom downwards,   
„Now!" He couldn't help but admire the smoothness of their descent and take credit for it   
himself. He was just a really (really) good flyer.   
They landed smoothly on the rocky beach before Harry was quite finished patting   
himself on the back. The seven of them quickly dismounted and the ropes were quickly   
magicked away, the brooms stowed away in the boat, then the Order of the Phoenix   
hopped into the canoe and, casting nervous looks around them, set off.   
In Harry's mind, they had good reason to be nervous. They'd only had one   
practice in a real canoe and only a week of regular practice with Marvin. Then there was   
Harry's perpetual fear of canoing. He hated water. He hated boats too. They all went   
back to the horrible night they spent on that rock in the middle of the Ocean. Riding   
there had been hell…the storm all around them, Duddly complaining, the rocking of the   
boat, Uncle Vernon with a crazed look on his face, the water stinging his face…Harry   
surpressed a shudder as he placed his foot in the boat carefully and forced himself to get   
all the way in. "Okay, everybody in," he said, trying to push down his nausea. "Just take   
your places and—and we'll try to do this just like we did in practice yesterday only—" he   
glanced at the water nervously"-a little faster."  
"You're the boss," Fred responded easily and bounded into the boot, quickly   
scooping up an oar and plunging it into the water along with half of the boat. Harry felt   
even sicker.   
"Fred!" He yelled, "Sit down! Don't—ever—ever do that again."  
George, who had just sat down, looked over at Harry and noticed the green look   
on his face. "Are you okay, Harry?"  
Harry opened his mouth to reply but realized he probably couldn't risk it at the   
moment and just shook it instead. George took over the lead. "Come on, get the oars,   
get in place, Ginny, you're up here with me and Fred will take the back, Ron, you and   
Hermione are in the middle, Harry will guide at the front." Harry nodded and took up his   
oar and waited until everyone was in until he began to count. "One!   
They were perhaps halfway to Azkaban when they first heard the other canoe. It   
was moving at a leisurly pace through the dark water and Harry strained his eyes, trying   
(but not wanting) to get a glimpsse of it. Night had fallen and the fog with it, giving the   
whole place the same eeire atmostphere as his dream. But this was worse than his   
dream. All excess noise, such as the counting, was gone. It was just the splash of the   
oars hitting the water and the whoosh of the canoes gliding forward, punctuated   
periodically by someone's heavy breathing.   
Suddenly, a loud BANG sounded over head and lights hit the Order of the Phoenix.   
Harry shielded his eyes against the blaze and looked up to see Sean's Yugo bearing down   
upon them. A jaunty wave from Sean before he cruised by them was enough to raise the   
spirits of everyone on the team. He and Satchel would lay the groundwork for their   
infiltration into Azkaban.  
An hour later, the Gream Flame bumped into t he shore of Azkaban, Voldemort's   
canoe far behind them. Sean was standing next to a hole in the wall, waving them   
forward. "Come on! Hurry up! No, don't try to take the boat with you!", he yelled at   
Hermione. " Satchel's already gone ahead to find Sirius. He'll get him, we'll bring him   
out, watch Voldemort rot and be on our way." One by one, they crawled t hrouhg the   
hole in the wall and were not followed by Sean. Instead of seeing his head poke through   
the wall, they heard a bump and then cursing from the other side of it. Ginny looked at   
Harry apprehensively and suddenly Sean appeared in the hole. Damn prisons....this one's   
guarded against morphing." The twins gaped at Sean and probably would have made him   
a god right then had Sean not reminded them of the urgency of their situation.   
Azkaban was built as a fortress prison whose importance as a holding place for the   
worst memberso f the wizarding community could simply not be overestimated. The   
Dementors, the traditional guards, had abandoned the prison along with many of ist   
unsavory criminals to join Voldemort when he returned but the echoes of their stay still   
lingered, chilling all who entered. Still. the newer guard, made up of Ministry Officials   
were hardly faultless and escapes were at an all time high, which wasn't saying much   
since the all time high before had been one, and that was set by Sirius.   
As the eight of them drifted through Azkaban's corridors, thew were given ample   
opportunity to appreciate the benifits of having a vampire on their side: every guard they   
met along their way had been knocked unconscious, the barred doors bent open with his   
superhuman strength, leaving the path clear. Satchel was also immune to nearly all   
spells any wizard would think to throw at him as well as poison, which was why wizards   
(and so-called supersticious Muggles) used garlic and other instruments to ward them   
off.  
"Man, they need to work on their interior decorating,"Fred observed quietly as they made   
their way through the dark hallway of Azkaban. It really was an understatement:   
Azkaban reeked of despair and misery. The musty stinch of former and present inmates   
clung to the walls and refused to let go. The Dementors were gone but their presence   
lingured along with the wastes and dirty straw that clumbed up at places along the   
corridor which was splotched with mirky puddles. The only light was supplied by their   
wands.  
"Here, we've reached it," Sean said finally. "Reached what?" Ginny's voice held a   
strain in it that Harry also felt.   
"The door to where Sirius is-- careful, you'll find three steps directly in front of it."  
Deciding not to question his knowledge, the eight of them felt their way forward   
gingerly, stumbling up the stairs and through the door. What Sean didn't know about,   
however, were the two stairs on the other side of the door and all of them stummbled   
down them in surprise, only to look up to an even greater shock: A skinny, dark manned   
man pinned against a wall staring in fright at a wand held up against his chest. The man   
was Sirius and the one holding the wand was none other than Satchel. 


	11. Smile, and be a villain

Chapter 11: Smile, and be a Villain  
  
"Satchel! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sean yelled angrily. Sirius looked up   
at the sound of his voice with a mixed expression of surprise and relief. "That's Sirius   
you moron!" Sean yelled.   
"I know." Satchel replied calmly, not moving a muscle. The wand remained where it was   
and Harry found he could not take his eyes from it.  
"Hello, maybe you've forgotten but we're supposed to be rescuing him, not killing him,"   
Sean's voice dripped with sarcasm that belied his fear.  
"Yes, so you are. But I am on a rather different mission," Satchel replied in his scratchy   
voice. Harry felt his mouth go dry and forced his eyes off of the wand to look at Sean.   
The smuggler was standing there, watching his partner carefully, his face a mask of   
control. "And what might that be?" he asked carefully.  
Satchel made a noise similar to a sigh. " You alread know what it is or have you forgotten   
what I told you at our first meeting in Tangier? Vampire's have no place in this world.   
They are looked down upon, banished, used and forbidden to use the one spell they   
have the power to use." He eyed Sirius with a hunger and licked hist stiff lips.  
"No!" Hermioned gasped. "No! He can't!"  
Satchel moved the wwand slowly but Sean's voice stopped him. "Wait! What are you   
talking about? 'Vampires have no place in this world,'" Sean mocked, "What a bunch of   
bull shit. YOU have a place in this world. Our smuggling organization. Have you forgotten   
how much of a help you've been with that?" Harry detected a note of desperation in his   
voice.  
"Hmpf. And tell me exactly how much of a smuggling organization you would have left if   
your buyers knew a vampire wwas involved. No, I've found a much better place for my   
talents. And there remains only one obstacle in my way to reaching it." He turned back   
to Sirius who was rapidly mouthing something at Harry.  
The freeze that had been on Harry's brain since entering the room finally melted and he   
reached down for his wand only to find it gone. "My wand!," he cried and at that   
moment, the wind picked up, blowing and roaring in their ears. "Don't worry!," Sean   
shouted over the din and next thing Harry heard was a spell being shouted not once but   
twice: AVADA KEDARVA!  
Two flashes of green light burst forth and Harry instinctivel fell to the ground,taking all   
those near him down with him, the wind stormiing around them. Then, as suddenly as it   
had picked up, it stopped and a strange silence filled the room that was as strong as the   
darkness: everyone of their wands had gone out.  
Cautiously, and not at all sure if he was still alive, Harry lifted up his head and saw the   
scene around him. A large gash was now in the wall where Sirius had been pinned and   
stone lay randomly tossed around the room. One had hit Ron in the head and he sat up,   
dazed and fingering the blood on his forehead. Other member of the team suffered cuts   
and bruises and Ginny a twisted ankle but they were not the worst of the wounded.   
Harry gained his feet quickly and ran over to the wall where two figured lay slumped on   
top of each other in front of the gash. He pushed the first one, Satchel, off and reached   
for Sirius. "Sirius! Sirius!" He moved his face around desperately. "Don't be dead- no you   
can't be dead- please don't be dead." He breathed hysterically and tried to make him   
move until two strong arms pulled the skinny fifteen year old back. Harry tried to fight   
but he knew it was no good.  
"Stop it, Harry," Harry commanded him and dragged him away from the corpses.   
"You!" Harry wrenched himself out of his arms and regarded the murderer. "You killed   
him! You killed him!"  
"No," Sean said softly, looking at Harry. "I didn't. He was already dead."  
"But you said the-- the killing curse! You used it," his voice reached an hysterical pitch   
again but Harry had no will to control it. "You know it's forbidden." Now Sean's gaze   
turned cold. "I'm not exactly the one you should be talking about 'forbidden' to. I've   
never given it much consideration." He paused then continued. "It had to be done, Harry,   
I couldn't just let Satchel kill Sirius and then hope the Wizarding police comes along to   
take him away before he kills the rest of us, too." He jabbed a finger at Harry's chest.   
"Can you imagine how big of a geather it would be in his hat to have killed not only Sirius   
Black but Harry Potter too?"  
Harrrry swallowed. "But Sirius! Why did he have to--" But Sean broke him off. "Don't ask   
questions whose answer you don't want to hear. It was all of Voldemort's plan, I'm sure,   
and I'm afraid he didn't come with his canoe either."  
George finally spoke up from where he and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix had   
remained huddled. "You mean this was all just a ruse? A ruse so that Satchel could kill   
Sirius? Why go to all that work?"  
Sean shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not the one to answer that question. The only   
question I really want an answer to is how I could trust someone so foolishly and so full."   
He walked over to Satchel's corpse and kicked it, then picked up a wanted that lay on the   
ground by him. "The bastard stole my wand, too," he said to himself and then threw a   
wand at Harry. "Here, sorry, but I had to borrow it." Harry caught it but said nothing.   
Sean wasn't finished yet either. He waved his wand in the air in front of him and   
conjured up a shiny wooden stake. Taking hold o it with his hands, he forefully drove it   
into Satchel's chest and the sound of cracking bone fell on Harry's ears. Then, Satchel's   
body slowly turned to dust and blew away in the wwind with a screetch, leaving nothing   
but the eight of them to stare at the ground where he had once lay.  
Slowly, they began to pick themselves up and get ready for the journewd back to   
the mainland. Being a prison, it only made sense for no one to be able to apparate or   
disapparate on the island. This naturally lead to some problems as Sean could not   
disapparate and fetch someone and anyone wanting to come and check up on them, like   
Dumbledore, for instance, would be likewise unable to get there. They would have to   
either row back to the shore or catch a ride in Sean's car.  
First and foremost of their worries were their medical conditions and this naturally   
provided Hermione with another opportunity to show off her magical skills. This is not to   
sa the Weasley Twins weren't proficient healers: years of blowing things up and   
endangering their lives as well as the lives of the rest of their family and any small   
animals in the immediate vicinity made them expert field meds. The British Army would   
have loved to get their hands on them.  
And so, Ginny's twisted ankle was bandaged, Ron's forehead mended and various   
other not-as-serious wounds delt with.  
Harry and Sean concerned themselves with the transportation of Sirius' body.   
Sean was prepared to deal with it himself but Harry insisted on helping himself. Partly, it   
was to convince himself that he was really dead. It was like seeing Cedric dead again: it   
seemed more like he had just drifted into a deep sleep: the Avada Kedarva curse left no   
bodily marking. The only marks to be seen on Sirius's body were cuts and bruises from   
the falling stone. 'But,' Harry reminded himself, 'it wasn't falling stone that killed him.'  
They conjured up a stretchur and Sean floated Sirius onto it then continued to   
float it through the corridors of Azkaban until they reached the beach, the rest of them   
following like a silent funeral train. There, they noticed, the Sun was setting, turning the   
world from lightness to various shades of gray. The water lapped the shore softly as well   
as the Green Flame. It sat there still, as magnificient as ever with the beautiful Phoenix   
soaring on ist side. 


	12. The Return

Chapter 12: Returning  
  
Sean magicked the back hatch of his Yugo open and floated the laden stretcher in, then   
shut it again. "Okay," he began, turning to face the rest of them. "Everybody in. It'll be a   
tight squeeze but I think you all will fit. Especially if you two still want to have a look at   
the smuggling compartments," he said to George and Fred, who dispite the events,   
grinned and nodded eagerly. Business as usual. "Okay," Sean said, "climb in."  
"Wait!" Ginny protested, "What about the boat? We can't leave it."  
Sean sighed wearily. "Well, we can't take it with us so that means leaving it."  
"No," Harry said, siding with Ginny. "It has our brooms in it. It's still a powerful   
boat. We can't let Voldemort get ahold of it."  
Sean sighed. "But you guys are clearly in no state to row all the way back to   
England in it." Hermione yawned loudly and leaned heavily against Ron as if to   
emphasize Sean's point. "Not to mention flying it back," he added.  
"No problem," said George. "We'll just rig it up to your Yugo, make it invisible and   
fly it back." He paused. "That is if you think your Yugo can handle it."  
Sean winced at this slight against his beloved car. "Of course my Yugo can handle   
it!" He said definsively. "Just--just let's make it feather light as well."  
George grinned. "Agreed."  
The group made quick work of tethering the canoe to the car and then piled in.   
The twins went first, crawling into the smuggling compartments from where their cries of   
delight and awe of Sean's (and Satchel's) handiwork could be heard through out the   
entire ride home. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all sat in the passenger are, Harry   
upfront next to Sean and the other three in the back seat.  
It wasn't long before the three behind in the back fell asleep and the only sounds   
to be heard were the soft humming of the engine and an occasional shout from the   
smuggling compartments. Harry would have loved to be asleep with them but he could   
not let himself fall asleep; neither, it seemed, could Sean. The only way Hary could   
distract himself from the pain of losing his only benefactor in the world was to think of   
what Sean was going through. His best friend and partner for who knows how long was   
not only dead but had betrayed them all and Sean had been forced to kill him. That was   
simply harsh.  
Sean finally broke the silence by saying, "I guess this leaves Dumbledore trying   
to figure out another way to get rid of Voldemort, eh?"  
Harry shrugged. "Who knows. If only he had been in that canoe, then it'd all be   
over."  
"I hear you there."  
And neither one of them said another word until they arrived at Hogwarts.  
  
***  
Dumbledore was waiting for them when they landed and Harry needed only one   
look at his face to know he already knew it hadn't worked. However, only when he   
noticed Sirius and Satchel were not among the returnees did his face show real worry.   
He quickly saw the injured up to Madame Pomfery's then took Sean and Harry to his   
office before he asked any questions.  
Once the two of them had made themselves comfortable, Dumbledore began to   
speak. "I know yesterday did not go as we anticipated. Voldemort was not on the boat   
as we expected, but what else went wrong I must find out from you." There he   
stopped and waited for one of them to speak.   
Sean started. "Well, Mr. Dumbledore," Sean was the only person Harry had ever   
heard call Dumbledore that, "it...it appears that Satchel was not who he seemed to be,"   
Sean's voice faltered and broke while saying this. It was the first time Harry had ever   
seen such a large crack in the smuggler's smooth, outer demenor. "He's been in league   
with Voldemort for-- for who knows how long." He stood up and walked over to one of   
Dumbledore's many gadgets and began messing with it. "Probably since the time I lost   
the Gremlin in that botched operation." Here he stopped, waiting perhaps for   
Dumbledore or Harry to contribute something and when neither one of them did, he   
reluctantly continued. "He-he-he killed Sirius," he made an odd sound that seemed like a   
mix between a laugh and a sob. "And I killed him." He shrugged and turned back to face   
them. "So we're even I guess. A life for a life. A friend for a friend."  
Dumbledore said nothing and sat there digesting this information and Harry felt   
inexplicably trapped between these two older men. Old, Harry thought, wasn't a phrase   
often used to describe Sean, He had seemed eternally jejune. But now it occurred to him   
that Sean must be in his late forties at least and Dumbledore...well, Dumbledore was   
ancient.  
Finally Dumbledore said, "go get some rest, Sean. You've had a long day. I'll have   
Proffessor McGonagall set up a room for you. I'm sure she'd be glad to."  
Sean nodded and left the room and now Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry.   
"I'm sorry, Harry, but it seems as though we just have no luck with this sort of thing." He   
sighed wearily. "I'll contact Remus later today and tell him what happened. I imagine he   
wouldn't mind going to the trouble of taking on a Godchild-- someone has to be your   
benefactor in the Wizarding World."  
Harry found his voice and managed to startle a question out of it. "What about   
Voldemort, Professor?"  
"Voldemort is not about to be defeated. He's too much power and too much   
information. We'll have to--" he stopped. "But this should not concern you. You too   
should get some rest. I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay with   
you, Harry."  
Harry shrugged. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel--the fourth person has   
just died because of me and I can't help but wonder how many more are going to end up   
dead."  
Dumbledore looked at him. "If anything, Harry, that should tell you how much   
those close to you believe you are worth dying for. You should never forget that. Just--  
just make sure you make their sacrifices worth it."  
Harry nodded blandly. "I think--I think I'll go to bed now."  
"If it's not a problem Harry, would you mind sleeping in the hospital wing tonight?   
Madame Pomfrey will have a fit if she's not allowed to make sure of your health herself." 


	13. Willkommen und Abschied

Chapter 13: Willkommen und Abschied  
Harry and his companions slept the day through and awoke at sunset for food and then went to   
their dormitories to sleep more, or, in Hermione's case, to study for the O.W.L.s. Naturally,   
she admitted this with a small look of regret and embarressment in Harry's direction, but Harry   
just shrugged it off and sat down in one of the big armchairs by the fire. Ron soon joined   
Hermione at the table with the pretense of studying and Harry couldn't help but smile about that.  
Neither one of them would admit it, but it was almost more than clear to the rest of Gryffindor   
they were interested in each other, even more so now than it had been during the now infamous   
Krum Incident.  
Fred and George were huddled in a corner of the room whispering busily about something and that   
left Ginny. She stood around awkardly for a moment then approached Harry. "I'm," she hesitated a  
bit, "sorry about Sirius, Harry. I've never lost anyone close to me yet so I can only imagine   
what you're going through and I just wanted to tell you that."  
Harry looke d at Ginny, surprised. Of the entire team, Ginny was the last he would have expected  
to hear this from. Still, he smiled and tried to hold back the tears that wer threatening to   
overflow. "Thanks, Ginny. It means a lot to me." And then, without meaning to, Harry hugged   
Ginny and when he let go, Ginny's face was as red as her hair and she stammard a goodbye before   
running up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. 'Well, that proves one thing,' Harry though,   
'her feelings for me haven't changed a bit.'  
  
****  
The next day, Ron and Harry were just leaving divination when Hermione came running up to them  
out of breath. "You guys better hurry, if you want to see Sean before he leaves."  
"What?! He's leaving already?" Ron asked.  
"Yes. He seems to be in a hurry to get things done."  
Harry and Ron then followed her down the stairs and out the main enterance. There was Sean,   
standing next to his Yugo, flanked by two Weasley twins and an auburn-haired woman none of them   
had ever seen before.  
The three caught up with them just in time to hear Fred ask, "Why do you have to go so soon Sean?  
There's so much more we have to learn from you!" His face was pained at the parting.  
Sean laughed. "'So much more to learn,'" he mocked. "If you guys learn anymore, you'll be a   
force I'd hate to see unleashed on the wizarding community, especially one so conservative as   
the British one." He shuddered. "Besides, I don't doubt you won't figure anything you don't   
already know out soon enough," he added conspiritorially. He then turned to Harry and stuck out   
a hand. "Bye, kid. I know it seems sudden, but I'm going now."  
Harry took his hand and shook it. "Something come up?"  
Sean gave the woman a side-long look and then said, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."  
She smiled at him and he looked back at the group gathered in front of them. "In any case, I   
have some final business I did to finish with a certain Ali Bashir and then I guess it's   
retirement for me."  
George's mouth fell open in surprise. "Retirement? But Sean, you can't retire! You don't need to!   
Who is going to smuggle--, I mean," he paused for a second trying to find some tactful way of   
phrasing this. "Who's going to do the cool stuff you do if you retire?"  
Sean looked at him closely. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to be an issue." He turned   
again to the woman next to him. "You ready, Regina?"  
"Yep...for a while now, too."  
"Alright...let's go." He waved at them in the typically casual american way a winked at Harry  
as though he were trying to say, "Good Luck, kid", and then the two of them got in, the Yugo's   
slightly rusted out engine started with a low grummbling sound and it back up a few yards, Sean  
turned it around, drove it down the long road around the lake, driving ever faster and finally   
the Yugo took off into the sky, fading from view as soon as it did. 


	14. The OWLs

Chapter 14: The OWLs are coming!  
The next days seemed decievingly quiet in comparison to the rush of the past week and this left   
Harry looking over his shoulder quite often as though he wanted to make sure there wasn't a   
hidden enemy lurking there he should have been aware of but the silence had hidden from him.   
The weather grew warmer and more beautiful but the fifth year Hogwarts students saw nothing or   
very little of it: the OWLs were all they had time to consider.  
"I can't wait til these damn things are over with!" Ron groaned as he slumped his heavy backpack   
onto his desk. It was filled with all of his homework and had a hefty weight. George and Fred   
glared at them over their pile of homework. "You think you've got it bad," Fred complained,   
"At least you're not taking the NEWTs. We saw last year's test in History of Magic and let's   
just say I'm shocked ANYONE made it out of Hogwarts last year."  
"The only way they probably managed to do it was because you two weren't in the immediate   
vicinty bothering them and they were able to study," responded Hermione with a sour tone to   
her voice.  
George put his hands out to her complacently. "Hey, sorry, we didn't realize you were trying   
to study...a studying Hermione and a reading-for-fun Hermione look remarkably similar, you know." Hermione glared at him and Harry couldn't help but notce Ron was glaring at George as well. He smiled to himself over this and then went back to revising his potions notes.  
The Ordinary Wizarding Level tests were three hours long each and Harry was testing in Charms,   
Transfiguration, Divination, Herbology, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures. Six subjects,   
2 test a day, just like everyother fifth year. One week of tests and then finally freedom.   
It was like finals with an added kick of adrenaline, especially for the teachers. All of them   
except for Snape and Professor Trelawney went out of their way to make sure every student was   
as well prepared as possible. Snape couldn't be bothered to help anyone, unless that person   
was a slytherin and Prof. Trelawney didn't see happening in the near future, but she gave   
every fifth year the comfort of knowing that should she see extra revision time, say, in July,  
she would let them all know. Hermione, meanwhile, tried not to gloat over Prof. Vector's   
superhuman efforts to make all his arithmancy students perfectly comfortable in his subjects.  
It is a fact that whenever you wish time to speed up, it slows down and vice versa: the test   
week came well before any of them were ready and crawled by as though a snail's pace were a   
speeding bullet. By Wednesday afternoon at 5 o'clock, every one of the fifth years was mentally   
exhausted. Even Hermione couldn't bare to look over her notes again to see what she missed.   
"I can't do it," she said in a high voice, her hand shaking as she tried to spoon soup into   
her mouth. Half of it spilled onto the tablecloth as her arm shook. "I can't bare to look, I   
know I missed the question about the Goblin Rebellions."  
Lavender, on the other hand, was in a good mood: "Professor Trelawney predicted great scores   
for me!"  
"Yeah, too bad she's a fraud, huh, Lavender?" Ron muttered into his mutton. He was pale in the   
face and, for once, didn't try to contradict Hermione by telling her she probably aced the test.  
The next two days were spent recovering the use of the mental facilities for other things   
besides studying, including exploading Snap, chess, avoiding any snacks the Weasley twins might   
hand out, and generally just lying around. On Friday, just before noon, a beak tapped on the   
window of the Gryffindor common room where Ron was busy beating Harry at chess. "Open the window,  
Ginny," Ron ordered, studying the chess board with an intensity Harry didn't think was fair.   
Ginny's face fell into a frown. "You can't order me around, Ron," she said stubbornly. Ron   
shrugged, paying her no mind and moved his knight. She sighed and reluctantly went to open the   
window. In flew Hedwig, with a letter tied to her leg and she swiftly landed right in the   
middle of the chess board, sweeping all the pieces to the floor before proudly presenting a   
letter to Harry. "Aaaarg! You stupid beast!" Ron shouted in surprise. "I was going to win!"  
"As though you ever lose," Harry replied with a smile reaching for the letter. Ron sighed and   
threw the pieces back into their case. "Who's it from, Harry?"  
Harry didn't answer immediately, his eyes were moving swiftly back and forth across the letter.   
Finally, he said, "It's from Lupin. He says that he'll be my Godfather now, if I want and that   
Satchel left him all his possessions in his will so if sometime I want to come live with him,   
it would be no problem, provided Dumbledore agreed." He smiled while saying this and was pleased to see Ron looking as thrilled as he was.   
"So, are you going to? I mean, if you do, I could come and visit you and you could come and   
visit me, if you want to," he added as though he couldn't imagine why Harry would want to when   
living with Lupin. "Do you think Dumbledore will let you?"  
Harry shrugged. "I don't know...it depends on what's going on with Voldemort." As soon as he'd   
said this, Harry wished he hadn't. It threw a cold blanket over the entire room, not to mention   
effectively killing the conversation.  
Ron eventually folded up the chess board and while putting it away, looked at Harry curiously,   
"Say, what has Lupin been up to? I haven't heard anything about him since he left Hogwarts."  
Harry opened his mouth to respond, only to realize that he himself did not know. "I haven't a   
clue. Whatever he does when he's not teaching I suppose. Ow, Hedwig." Hedwig had just bitten   
him on the finger as her way of telling him she was hungry and, realizing she wasn't about to   
get food from Harry, flew back out the window toward the owlry, leaving four Hogwarts students   
staring after her.  
  
THE END.  
  
Author's Note: Hey, you dedicated readers. Sorry it took me so long to finish this darn thing.   
3 years, not so bad considering the conditions I was working under (riiight...) but I'd like to   
thanks those of you who have been dedicatedly reading this and urging me to finish it,   
even though I didn't exactly listen to you (Sorry about that too.) So, yeah, a special   
thanks to Sarah W. I don't think I would have finished it had you not bothered me about   
and gotten so excited about reading it.  
So, now that you've read it, and hopefully loved it, review it!!! For those of you who liked   
Sean's character and would like to find out more about him and his history, go read "Tales   
from the Wizarding Underworld". Five points to whoever figures out what other famous fictional   
character I based him on. Or, if you really want to, you can go read some of my other unfinished   
fics in the Star Wars universe. The fun never ends! 


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